Infographic: The State of Malware 2013

April 1, 2013

Malware is evolving, becoming more sophisticated in its functionality and targeting computers and mobile devices in new ways. This infographic captures the state of malware as it stands in early 2013 and illustrates just how fast online threats are growing.

McAfee Labs researchers collected a record number of malware samples in 2012 and now catalog 100,000 new malware samples each day — that’s 69 new pieces of malware a minute. While it’s not surprising that malware targeting mobile devices, specifically Android smartphones, is growing, the threat is ballooning at an off-the-charts rate. In fact, McAfee Labs researchers tracked 44 times the number of mobile malware samples in 2012 than in the previous year.

Along with rising threat volumes is a prevalence of malware exhibiting advanced functionality. Signed malware relies on a stolen or fake certificate, a feature that can help an attack circumvent traditional system security. Master boot record attacks target a system between the hardware and the operating system. A master boot sector virus, for example, loads into memory during boot up, before traditional virus detection defenses execute. And with ransomware attacks rising, PCs are now a prime hostage target. Ransomware is a type of malware that takes a computer or its data hostage in effort to extort money from victims. It’s often a losing situation for the computer owner — even if they pay the ransom, the computer and its data may not be restored.

Are you prepared for the new state of malware? With new threats on the rise, McAfee is continually evolving its approach to security. With comprehensive malware protection, McAfee offers a layered defense strategy that delivers integrated network security, endpoint protection, and security management to block malware at every endpoint, beyond the OS, and everywhere in between.